I Promise
by MrsNazarioWrites
Summary: Damien and Maya have a little heart-to-heart on their way to Eros HQ as they reflect on recent events that brought them here; Damien x MC; Perfect Match oneshot


A/N: So this is just another take on that boat scene in the beginning of Chapter 14. Damien's dialogue really melted my heart in that part and I felt like expanding on that more :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Characters belong to Pixelberry.

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"Hey …" Damien quietly scooted closer to Maya and took her bound hands in his, squeezing them gently. "Are you okay?" His eyebrows were furrowed in concern as he searched her face for any signs of pain. He glanced at the arm Alana had twisted when they had been ambushed.

"Physically, I'm fine," she said. "Otherwise to be honest, I'm really just trying to be brave." She clasped his hands tightly, smiling at him weakly. "I'm terrified. We've been drugged, tied up …" her voice shook as she spoke, partly because of the cold. "I don't even know where we are. I-" Maya swallowed, trying to curb the emotions coming to surface as the words poured out of her. "Everyone I care about is sitting in this boat, about to face who knows what."

"I know," he murmured. His thumb caressed her hands gently.

"I keep thinking 'what if something happens to them?' but something has _already_ happened to them. Nadia's been through hell." Tears prickled at Maya's eyes when she glanced at her cousin who was talking softly with Sloane. Nadia's face showed anger and suspicion, but her body language communicated something only Maya and Damien could pick up on, having known each other for so long. She was trying to keep it together, but in reality, she was ready to lose it. Showing her temper seemed to be the only way to vent her frustration.

"You know, she told me before we left that she wasn't cut out for this, and yet she got dragged through it anyway. And you-"

"Hey," he stopped her, lacing his fingers with hers to drive his point home. "Don't worry about me. As long as you're okay, I'll be okay too." He leaned forward and kissed her hands gently. "And I'm gonna look out for Nadia too, I promise."

Maya's worries were perfectly valid. Damien couldn't deny that the thought had crossed his mind too. In his previous days as a cop, he'd faced his own share of dangerous situations. He'd been captured, beaten, held at gunpoint, shot at and more. Years of rigorous training in law enforcement had somehow kept him grounded through it all and was likely the main reason why out of everyone in the group, he seemed to be the calmest given their situation.

Despite making it through in one piece, his past experiences had still left a mark on him though. Even Damien had limits in how much of the stress he could handle, which was why he'd eventually left the NYPD.

Now, millions of scenarios kept playing in his head as to how this could go; what they would face, what these people had planned for them. But this time, it wasn't his safety he feared for. Could Maya and Nadia handle it? What would happen to them if they had to face what he did? Or worse? His hold on her hands firmed. _That can't happen. It will not happen._

"However bad this situation is, I'm just relieved that I can be here with you through it all," He said ruefully. "Good thing that deal with Eros didn't go as planned, huh?"

Maya picked up on the implication and felt a surge of anger. "Ugh, don't even get me started on that conniving little-" She cut herself off. The images of her friends getting restrained and dragged into the van were still fresh in her mind. Even if Damien had been left alone, how could Alana have possibly thought that would go well in the long run? Did she actually think he would just get over watching his best friend and the woman he loved being snatched away in front of him and then ride off into the sunset with the woman who'd willingly sent them to their …

" _It's nothing personal, Maya. I did what I had to."_ Alana had said to her. Maya frowned indignantly. _Nothing personal, my ass._

"This is so unfair. I'm … furious!" She vented, keeping her voice down because of the guards. "We were finally getting somewhere. I thought things were going to be great. We would hand over the information, and everything would go back to normal. But then Alana had to go and screw it up. I'm not sure if I'm angrier at Eros or at her."

"I know exactly how you feel," He said more harshly than he intended to. He'd had his doubts about Alana early on. Her reason for staying with them was understandable but the way she just seemed to come up with solutions for everything seemed off. How she'd just _happened_ to know a leaker whose area of expertise fit _exactly_ into what they needed to release their information. She'd been so eager for details on each group member; and their recreational activities on the train last night had been the perfect way to extract them.

He knew her too well. If it had been this entire group minus himself, there was no way she would've helped them unless there was something in it for herself. He'd wanted to believe she'd done so anyway out of respect for their history. Damien scoffed bitterly. "I should've turned tail the minute she showed up at the safe house. Shouldn't have let my guard down."

"Damien," Maya watched him sadly. "We didn't have much of a choice then."

"All of you left for Berlin on my suggestion. You put your trust in me and look who I stuck us with."

"You didn't _stick_ us with her, you didn't even know she was staying there!"

"Still. We could've gone anywhere, Maya. _Anything_ would've been better than blindly trusting her," he said. I've always known she wasn't above resorting to … questionable tactics. Still, I …" Damien hung his head, unable to finish.

"Don't blame yourself. By that logic, if Nadia and I hadn't signed up for Eros in the first place, we wouldn't have had to leave the country at all."

He smirked. "Well you're not wrong on that."

"Wow," she chuckled, albeit halfheartedly. "Is this what I get for trying to make you feel better?"

"Admit it Maya. You walked right into that one." He tilted his head slightly, shooting her a roguish grin. "Besides, I got you to smile again didn't I?"

"Yeah you did," she said. "Which is funny because it's usually my job to be all optimistic."

"Guess you just have that effect on me." Then Damien leaned in, his forehead touching hers. "You can do this, Maya." He tugged at her hands, which were still gripping his tightly and gazed into her eyes. " _We_ can do this. Together."

The conviction in his voice resonated through Maya and she couldn't keep the smile from her face. She leaned in and kissed him tenderly, her lips parting as they moved with his and he deepened the kiss ever so slightly; neither of them caring if anyone in the boat was watching.

Damien could feel her shivering and he pulled back, concerned. That was when he remembered how cold it was out here; and she was still in her ripped black jeans, small leather jacket and golden crop top. "You cold?" he whispered.

"Freezing."

He was about to try removing his jacket only to be hindered by the zip ties binding his wrists. _Right, of course._ Instead, he gestured to his shoulder and then scooted even closer to her. She leaned her head against his shoulder and pressed her body tightly against his, sandwiching their joined hands between them and welcoming any warmth she could get. It only helped to a certain extent since Damien himself wasn't ideally dressed for this weather.

He sighed heavily and rested against her shoulder, nuzzling her neck. They stayed like that for a while, reveling in each other's warmth and trying not to think too much about what was to come. "We'll get through this, Maya," he whispered. "I promise."


End file.
